Between a Rock and Faith
by Gloomy Cow
Summary: Buffy gets captured by the Initiative and experimented on.  Oh, Faith's there, too.
1. Chapter 1

**_This story is a little on the dark side. If you're not into the whole Slayer-trapped-in-a-science-lab scenario, I would hit that back button now. There's a lot of fluffy romance you could be reading instead. _**

**_Disclaimer: Clearly I am not Joss Whedon. _**

**Between a Rock and Faith**

**Chapter 1**

Buffy awoke to the terrifying feeling of being strapped down. She didn't open her eyes at first. Instead, she tensed her arms, testing whatever was holding her there. Metal cuffs around her wrists, that was for sure. She pulled at her legs. More metal cuffs around the ankles, too. She lifted her torso. It was blocked by a strap across her stomach, pressing down on her belly button when she strained against it.

Buffy opened her eyes.

She found herself blinking against bright white lights, set in fluorescent panels along the ceiling. She turned her head to the right and saw only a bare white wall, with a bare white floor. She turned her head to the left and saw that the room she was in was not very large, and that one its walls was a panel of glass. Beyond it, there was an empty hallway, and she could see that across from her were more rooms like hers, with dark, hunched figures inside of them.

Where was she, and how did she get here? These were the questions that ran across her mind.

Before she answered them, Buffy decided to figure out if she was in immediate danger. As far as she could tell, she was alone in the white room behind the panel of glass. This scared her, but also made her feel somewhat safer. She shut her eyes so that she could listen to the sounds around her. Aside from the fluorescent lights, which let out a monotonous hum, she thought she heard someone groan, and then she thought she heard someone scream. But these sounds were far away, and Buffy didn't know what to make of them. She sniffed at the air, but the chemical smell of antiseptic drowned out any other odor.

"Helloooo? Bee? Anybody home?"

Buffy's eyes popped open. The voice had come from behind her, so she couldn't see who it was. But she recognized the voice.

"Faith?" Buffy said, and she felt a mixture of relief and fear. Relief because she recognized someone here, in this strange place. Fear because the person she recognized was not a good one.

The Dark Slayer stepped out from behind Buffy, moving to stand beside her, near her head. Her face was paler than Buffy remembered, perhaps because she wore none of the dark eyeliner or heavy lipstick that Buffy was used to seeing on her. Her hair was quite long, messy and sweeping far past her shoulders, and she wore a plain white T-shirt with plain white pants. Since neither of these garments was the least bit sexy, Buffy guessed that Faith had not picked them out for herself. Faith's lips were pursed in a smirk as her eyes ran over the strapped-down Slayer. Her expression suggested that she was happy to have Buffy in such a vulnerable state. Unconsciously, Buffy tensed her muscles against the cuffs that held her wrists and ankles, but they held tight.

"Faith." Against her will, Buffy conveyed how afraid she was with her voice. "I had to. I'm sorry." She was referring to the last time the two Slayers had met, when Buffy's knife had found its way into Faith's gut, leaving the Dark Slayer in a coma. In fact, it surprised Buffy to see Faith here, standing in front of her, very un-comatose.

"Sorry for what?" Faith cocked her head to the side, and her expression took on an evil, calculating look. "Stabbing me? Leaving me to die?" She placed two fingers on Buffy's temple and ran them down the side of her face. Her touch was like ice, and Buffy couldn't help but shiver. Then Faith leaned over her, till their faces were inches apart. Buffy could see nothing but the brown in Faith's eyes, and the anger that blazed within them. "It's no biggie, Bee. Really. I'm fine."

Faith held her face close to Buffy's for what felt like an eternity, till finally she pulled away, and Buffy exhaled. Faith walked to the panel of glass, stared out it for a few seconds, then spun back around. Her expression was haughty.

"I'd take advantage of this little setup to get my revenge on you," she said, "but it looks like I'm not gonna have to. I'd brace myself if I were you."

Almost as soon as Faith finished speaking, the glass panel slid open with a thwack, and several men in army fatigues marched into the small, square white room. They didn't seem to notice Faith, who put her hands up and flattened herself against a wall, a submissive gesture the frightened Buffy even more. One of the soldiers came around behind Buffy and pushed the gurney to which she was strapped out of the room and into the hallway. Buffy heard the glass panel smack closed behind them.

The hallway had bright fluorescent light panels like the room had, and the glare of them was beginning to make Buffy's head pound. She craned her neck to try to get a look at the soldier's face, but could not.

"Hey look, it's the Slayer!" someone called. Buffy thought it had come from one of the little rooms she was whooshing past.

"What's a matter, Slayer? Stuck here with the rest of us?" another voice called.

Buffy whipped her head in the direction of the voice, just in time to see a green-faced demon with small red horns leering at her from behind one of the glass panels. He laughed when she met his eyes.

"What is this place?" Buffy said. Her voice was hoarse, like she'd been unconscious for a long time. She wondered how long she'd been lying in that room before she'd woken up.

The soldier said nothing. Soon, he pushed her through a set of double-doors into another long hallway, this one with metallic walls and a rounded ceiling, like the inside of a soda can. Buffy was alarmed to see that the doors along either side of the hallway were made of metal, too, with tiny windows at eye level. She was certain such doors were not constructed without sinister purposes.

"What _is _this place?" Buffy repeated, but again there was no answer from the soldier.

They came to a stop in front of one of the doors. From his belt, the soldier jangled loose a set of keys. Then he opened the door and pulled Buffy inside.

The room was large and bright, with three white walls and one wall that was a mirror. Buffy wondered if there were people watching her from the other side of it. Three figures approached her. One was a heavy, middle-aged man with a shiny bald spot. The other was a young man in army fatigues, not much older than Buffy, with light brown hair and a tan face, like he'd spent a lot of time outdoors. The last figure was a woman Buffy recognized.

"Professor Walsh?" Buffy said.

The woman gave Buffy a small smile, stepping closer. She had blond hair, cropped close to her head, and wore a white labcoat. Buffy was disturbed to see metal tools sticking out of her pockets.

Buffy forced herself to sound calm. "Am I gonna be graded on all this?"

Professor Walsh's smile got wider, showing her white, perfect teeth. "Be quiet, Hostile 33."

The professor approached Buffy's side in two quick steps, whipped a syringe out of her pocket, and jabbed it into her upper arm. Buffy was swept by nausea. Her eyelids fell shut, but she clung to consciousness, unwilling to lose her awareness of what was happening. Professor Walsh didn't seem to care that Buffy wasn't fully knocked out, because the woman began to undo the cuffs on Buffy's ankles and wrists. Though Buffy's mind jumped at the opportunity to put up a fight, her body felt like dead weight.

"Get the equipment ready," ordered Professor Walsh, and the two men moved out of Buffy's vision. The professor herself stayed near Buffy, grabbing her wrist and putting her fingers on the vein, as if checking her pulse. As several seconds went by, Buffy assumed she was doing just that.

Professor Walsh dropped Buffy's wrist and it landed on the gurney with a thud. Then the professor stepped closer to Buffy, looking her in the face with an expression that was half curiosity and half disgust. Buffy struggled to keep her eyes open.

"That dosage could have knocked out an elephant," said the professor. She touched Buffy's arm with her fingertips and dragged them along her skin. "What are you?"

Buffy tried to open her mouth, to claim that she was just a girl, but she couldn't even move her tongue.

"What are you?" Professor Walsh repeated. Then she smiled. "No matter. We're going to find out."

She stuck her hands under the hem of Buffy's T-shirt and yanked it over her head. Buffy felt goosebumps prickle along her bare skin. If she'd suspected that something nasty was going to happen before, she was absolutely certain of it now.

The professor left Buffy in her sports bra and pants as she walked to the other side of the room. She returned momentarily with what looked like a television on wheels, connected to several wires with circular stickers on the ends of them. Placing one hand possessively on Buffy's stomach, the professor stuck one of the stickers over Buffy's heart, another at the base of her ribcage, and two more on each of her temples. In response, the television lit up with green lines that arched upward and downward in rhythm, accompanied by a beeping sound. My heartbeat, Buffy thought.

"Is everything ready, soldier?" the professor said, not turning her gaze away from Buffy.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

The professor wheeled her closer to the two men, who had assembled what looked to be two metal poles, standing straight up from the ground and connected by a third pole that sat horizontally between them. The structure formed a rectangle, a bit like a swingset, and was a foot taller than both men. Two metal cuffs were attached to the horizontal pole. Buffy eyed them forebodingly.

The men grabbed Buffy's arms and and hoisted her off the gurney, lifting her arms into the cuffs. The professor clicked them shut around her wrists, and then the men let Buffy's body drop. She hung suspended, toes grazing the floor, head falling forward because her neck couldn't support her. The professor wheeled the television closer, and Buffy listened to the rapid beeping of her heart.

The older, bald man spoke in another language, maybe Russian, before laying one hand on the small of Buffy's back and pressing his fingers into her stomach, seemingly probing around for something. Dangling from the metal bar, Buffy's head was higher than his, and if she had had the motor function she would have spit on him.

The professor spoke back to the man in Russian, then came up beside him, laying her hand where the man had been probing her stomach. They said another few words before Professor Walsh drew a scalpel out of her labcoat. It glinted in the bright fluorescent light.

"Don't." In her terror, Buffy managed to get her mouth to form the word.

The professor looked up at Buffy, shocked, then smiled. "You'd be much better off if you just went to sleep."

Professor Walsh plunged the scalpel into Buffy's lower abdomen, slicing a thin line from her hipbone to her belly button. Buffy whimpered as she watched beads of blood form along the line, before the wound began to drizzle freely. The television beeped faster.

"Riley, bring me a swab," said Professor Walsh.

Buffy heard the smacking of the younger man's boots against the floor as he followed her orders. Soon, the professor held a long, thin, white stick in her hand, fuzzed with cotton on one end. She reached into her labcoat and pulled out a test tube filled with blue liquid. After dunking the swab into the blue stuff, she jammed the swab into the slit in Buffy's abdomen, dragging it through the entire length of the wound. Buffy howled.

"Don't you think you should give her some more anesthesia?" the young soldier said. Buffy's head was dropped too low to see his face, but she could hear the pain in his voice.

Professor Walsh took her scalpel and cut another line into Buffy's abdomen, higher on her stomach but horizontal to the first one. Buffy let out a shriek.

"Why would I do that?" the professor said.

"She's clearly in pain."

The professor jammed another chemical-drenched swab into the wound, and Buffy exploded with screams. "And?" The professor turned to face the soldier. "This is not a person, Riley. This is a creature. We don't care when creatures are in pain."

There was a moment of silence, and then soldier said, "Yes, ma'am."

The professor made six more cuts into Buffy's stomach, drenching each of them in the blue fluid. By the end of this, Buffy felt like her stomach was on fire, and she had traded in her screams for continuous moaning. Then the three left her hanging for what felt like hours, returning periodically to examine her. She hung there in a sort of fog, grimacing each time someone put her hands on her, wondering where she was and why she was being treated like an test subject.

Finally, the young man entered the room alone. Buffy had regained enough of her mobility to raise her head and frown at him.

"Done for the day," Riley said, reaching up to undo the cuffs. As he let one of her arms drop, it sung with pain, the muscle stretched out and exhausted from the hours it had supported her entire body. He grasped her torso as he undid the second cuff, supporting her entire weight on his shoulder as she dropped from the metal bar. Buffy attempted to kick her way free, but her limbs felt like they were full of lead, and she did nothing more than slowly flail as he carried her to the gurney and lay her on her back.

After fastening her to the flat surface, he took a wet cloth and rubbed Buffy's stomach with it. The wounds had long stopped bleeding, but were crusted with dried blood. Buffy watched the concentration in his eyes, and noticed that the towel seemed to have been warmed up.

"What is this place?" Buffy hissed.

Riley glanced at her, but quickly returned his attention to cleaning off the wounds, acting as if she hadn't spoken.

"Help me," Buffy said. "Please."

This time Riley didn't even glance at her.

When he was done cleaning her stomach, Riley rolled her back to the little room she had come from. Faith put her hands in the air and flattened herself against the wall when she saw them approaching. Riley didn't pay her any attention, opening the door and rolling Buffy inside. Once there, he unlatched the cuffs around Buffy's wrists and ankles and exited the cell. The glass panel slammed shut behind him.

Buffy curled into a ball and squeezed her eyes shut, her stomach still throbbing and her shoulders sore. When she opened her eyes, Faith was slouched against the wall, a mischievous smile on her face.

"So," Faith said, eyes twinkling, "how was your day?"

**I'll be posting tomorrow, so come on back. I know you want to know what happens next :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**_Thanks for reading, peeps._**

**Between a Rock and Faith**

**Chapter 2**

Buffy stared at Faith, too exhausted to make any sort of response.

Faith walked closer, swaying her hips back and forth. "You have fun? Meet people?"

Buffy continued to stare, feeling quite dead inside.

"What's a matter, Bee? Rough first day?"

"What is this place?" Buffy said for what felt like the thousandth time.

To Buffy's surprise, Faith answered her. "Here?" she said. "This is where they lock up all the dangerous animals and run tests on them."

"I'm not an animal."

Faith shrugged. "_You_ know that, and _I_ know that, but they don't know that. Couple of Slayers like us? They think we're demons or something. Mutant vampires. They're trying to figure us out." Faith took another step closer, a look of curiosity on her face. "Here, let me see what they did to ya."

Against her better judgment, Buffy unfolded her legs to expose her stomach, where there were eight bright red scars, swollen and raised above her skin. Buffy touched one of them as softly as she could with her fingertips and almost started crying.

"Eh, that's not so bad," Faith said, turning to face the glass.

After the hours of agony, Buffy was almost offended. "They strung me up by my wrists and cut into me."

"Could be worse."

"They jammed chemicals into my gaping wounds!"

Faith whirled around, her forehead scrunched in disbelief. "You looking for sympathy from me? I've had it a thousand times worse, babe, and I'm still standing. If you know what's good for you, you'll toughen up and start trying to come up with an escape plan."

After taking a few deep breaths, Buffy realized Faith was right. This sucked big time, but she needed to keep her head on straight.

"Have _you_ tried to escape?" Buffy said.

"Me?" Faith said. "Nope. Haven't thought of any good plans yet."

"What about when the soldier guys come to get you? What about trying to escape then?"

Faith laughed, a bitter, unhappy sound. "Zzzzz! They'll hit you with a tazer that leaves your hands and feet numb for a week. I would _not _get the firsthand experience if I were you."

Buffy struggled to sit up, her body still slow from being drugged. "Do they always drug you when they take you out of here?" She thought she might be able to put up a fight if she weren't under the influence of whatever they'd injected her with.

"Yep. Either that or you're strapped down the whole time."

Buffy shook her head. "So how are we supposed to escape?"

Faith crossed her arms over her chest. "You giving up that easy? Aren't you supposed to be made of tougher stuff than that?"

"I don't see how I'm supposed to get out of here when I'm either in a cage, drugged, or strapped down the entire time! And I don't see you coming up with any grand ideas."

"Well, _I'm _not really known for my brains, am I, Bee? I was hoping you'd be able to see something I didn't."

Buffy took a long, deep breath, held it in her chest, and let it out slowly. "I think the one guy might be willing to help us. The young one. Riley."

Faith shook her head. "Nope."

"What do you mean, no?"

"I _mean_, he's not going to help you. That guy is totally under the professor's thumb. He might seem like he's 'hurting inside' as he shoves a tube down your nose, but he's not going to do anything she doesn't want him to."

"How do you know?"

Faith shrugged. "Instinct."

"I think you're wrong. I think I can get him to help us."

Faith walked up to Buffy and stroked her cheek in a way that Buffy didn't much appreciate. "So very young and naive. It's a crap world, my dear, and no one's gonna help you out of the kindness of their heart. If you're going to survive in here, you'd better accept that right now."

Faith stretched her arms above her head and cracked her neck, then sunk down onto the floor and seemed to go to sleep. Unable to think of anything else to do, and deathly tired, Buffy wrapped her arms around her legs and drifted off, too. She had no idea if it was day or night.

####

The next few days were awful.

It seemed like every few hours Buffy was swept away to the operating room, where she was subjected to things she didn't even have a name for. She'd been forced to lift heavier and heavier objects, until her muscles ached so badly she'd collapsed. She'd had a knife plunged into her calf and left there, so the professor could watch the Slayer's flesh heal around it. She'd even had strange fluids poured down her nose because Professor Walsh wanted to see if Buffy could digest them, an incident that left Buffy throwing up for hours. The Slayer might have been able to handle the physical pain, if it wasn't for the humiliation of being treated like an animal instead of a human being.

After having been stripped naked by soldiers and hosed down, Buffy was brought back to her cell feeling so dead inside she thought she'd never feel anything again. She immediately sunk down against the wall and put her head between her knees, squeezing the fabric of her pants inside her fists.

"Get up." Faith's voice was hard.

Buffy didn't bother to answer, or even lift her head.

"You hear me, Bee? Up. Off the ground."

When Buffy didn't respond again, Faith grasped her by the shoulders and jolted her to her feet, slamming her against the wall. Buffy gasped in surprise. Hands still clutching Buffy's shoulders painfully, Faith's face was contorted with rage.

"When I say get up, you get up," Faith spat.

Buffy couldn't bring herself to muster a response, the deadness inside her too great. Then Faith slapped her across the face, a lightning-fast gesture that made Buffy's cheek explode with pain. Furious, Buffy took a swing at her, but Faith ducked out of the way and swept Buffy off her feet with a kick to the shins. Buffy slammed against the ground, but whipped to her feet so quickly that Faith was taken off guard, and Buffy whacked her in the face. Faith staggered backwards, clutching her cheek.

"Ow," Faith said.

"What the hell?" Buffy threw up her hands.

Faith took her hand away from her face and smiled. Her right eye was already swelling. "Great punch."

"Christ, Faith. It's bad enough I get to be Professor Walsh's favorite guinea pig all day long, then I've got to come back here and fight with you?"

"So you're angry?"

Buffy shook her head. "Of course I'm angry. I'm sick of this. I don't _deserve_ this. I'm the good guy, and I'm getting treated like some kind of creature. I want to go home."

Faith crossed her arms. "Oh, really? Because a few minutes ago it looked like you wanted to crawl into a hole and die. You can't let it get to you, Bee. You want to get out of here, you've got to stay sharp, stay alert, and keep looking for ways to get out."

"I don't see you coming up with anything!"

"I _told _you, I'm no good at this stuff. I'm not a planner, never have been, and if we're gonna get out of here we're gonna need a plan. So tell me, have you been coming up with one, or have you just been throwing yourself a pity party these past few days?"

Buffy put her fingers to her temples and rubbed. She hadn't come up with anything, because there wasn't anything to come up with. As far as she could tell, there was no way out of this place.

"I've got nothing." She shook her head. "Except getting Riley to help us. If I could only talk to him alone for a few minutes-

"Stop right there. We've talked about this. He is _not _going to help you, not no way, not no how."

"You _don't _know that."

"Fine then. Prove me wrong. You won't, but go ahead and try. Maybe when he tells you no freaking way and shoves some anesthesia in your vein you'll finally start coming up with a different plan."

The next day, Buffy was relieved when the professor didn't drug her, because this meant she had full facility of her mind, and was on the lookout for a chance to talk to the young, tan-faced soldier. Unfortunately, it was a strapped-to-the-gurney day, and the Professor had already removed Buffy's shirt. She wondered with morbid curiosity what was in store for her, praying all the while that she would be left alone with Riley.

Almost like the heavens had heard her, the professor and the Russian exited the room in a flurry of conversation. Riley met Buffy's gaze for a split second before turning away.

"Riley," Buffy said. "Please. I know you're not like them. You've got to help me get out of here."

The soldier said nothing, though Buffy saw his throat bulge as he swallowed hard.

"I'm not an animal," Buffy said. "I'm a girl. I take classes. I have a mother. _Please._"

Before Riley could respond, the professor burst back into the room with a metal object in her hands, like a robotic spider. The Russian followed her, holding a metal tool that looked like oversized pliers. Buffy gulped, gazing at Riley. He continued to face the other direction, though his fists were clenched at his sides.

"Riley!" Buffy cried. "Help me, please!"

The professor whirled to face her, disgusted. "What on Earth do you think you're doing, Hostile 33?" She turned to face Riley, who was staring at his feet. The professor watched him for a few seconds, her eyes narrowing as she registered his anxiety. "Riley," she demanded, "administer the probe."

The soldier lifted his face, his eyes wide.

"Do it, soldier," the professor snapped.

After a few moments of hesitation, Riley walked to Russian and took the oversized pliers from his hands. Then he approached Buffy. She looked at him pleadingly. But he merely looked her in the eyes and shook his head.

"No!" Buffy shrieked.

He jammed his fingers into her mouth and pried open her jaw, then put the tips of the pliers against her tongue and the roof of her mouth. He forced the pliers open and locked them in place, leaving Buffy's mouth ajar. The metal was sour on her tongue.

Professor Walsh handed him the spider, and he lifted it to her mouth. Buffy's eyes widened. It was the size of a gum ball, with eight metal legs sticking out. Riley fiddled with the spider and the legs began to wiggle. Buffy screamed so loud her voice cracked.

Riley dropped the spider onto her tongue and it wriggled into her throat. She gagged, but it crawled in further, until she could feel it moving down in her esophagus, descending into her stomach. When it got there Buffy felt a sharp stab of pain, and she cried out.

Riley stood up straight and faced the other way. After looking at him in a satisfied way, the professor snatched the pliers out of Buffy's mouth just in time for another jolt of pain in her stomach.

Buffy shrieked. "Why?"

The professor cocked her head, examining Buffy's face not like it was a whole entity, but looking at her mouth, then her nose, then her eyes. "Why? Because we need tissue samples, Hostile 33. I'd be perfectly fine with cutting you open to get them, but unfortunately slicing into your organs would probably kill you, and we wouldn't want that, now, would we?" She smiled.

**I'm a little disturbed at how easily my mind conjures evil science-lab goings-on. Oh well.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Between a Rock and Faith**

**Chapter 3**

The spider crawled around in Buffy's gut for the next hour, its sharp legs jabbing at the soft tissue and making her cry out every few minutes. She desperately avoided looking down at her stomach, because when she did she could see the lump of it moving around under her skin. The professor and the Russian left her alone with Riley, who stood with his back to her, unspeaking. Buffy didn't bother trying to ask for help.

When Buffy was in so much pain from the pinching of the spider that her toes curled, she felt it jolt toward her esophagus. She gasped, and it stuck its legs into the inside of her throat and began to pick its way upwards, a terrifying sensation that Buffy felt every moment of. When it hauled itself into her mouth and jumped out onto her chest, she gagged and screamed.

Riley snatched the spider and took it away, returning momentarily to roll Buffy back to her cell. She ignored the catcalls of the vampires and demons, breathing so rapidly that she thought her heart would explode. After Riley had slammed the glass panel shut behind him, Buffy erupted into desperate, gasping tears, clutching her stomach at the memory of the spider. Though Buffy had often felt like it, she hadn't cried since she'd woken up in this place.

"Hey, knock it off!" Faith rose from the floor and walked to stand beside Buffy, her hands on her hips. Buffy continued to gasp and sob.

Faith grasped her by the shoulders and shook her. "Will ya stop? You're tougher than this, Bee."

Buffy stopped sobbing for a moment to take a deep breath, taking in Faith's irritated expression, but then only melted down in tears again.

Rather than shaking her or yelling at her again, Faith sighed and slid onto the gurney beside her, pulling Buffy onto her lap and wrapping her arms around her. Buffy stopped crying for a second, shocked, but then the warmth of benevolent human contact only plunged her into tears once more, wracking the both of them with her sobs. This went on for several minutes, until Buffy's sobs settled into slow heaves of her chest, and finally into calm breathing.

The moment this happened, Faith slid out from beneath Buffy and stood up, brow furrowed. "Ya done?"

Buffy sniffed and sat up, placing her hands on her knees as her legs dangled from the gurney. "Yeah. Thanks."

Faith looked at her sternly. "That wasn't really acceptable. I can't have you breaking down, Bee. That's the kind of behavior that's gonna keep us stuck in here forever."

"Riley. You were right about him. He's not going to help us."

Faith blew air out her lips. "Duh. I've been telling you that from that start. Think you can move on now?"

"I don't know what else to do! I can't take much more of this, Faith. Pretty soon I'm going to crack. I don't know how you're keeping it together."

Faith slapped her hands onto her hips. "Me? It's because I don't have any delusions about the world. I don't think people are good, so I don't expect them to be, and I'm not surprised when crap like this…" She gestured at their small cell. "happens."

"Yeah, but even if people aren't totally good, most of them aren't locking each other up and experimenting on them like animals. This is way worse than the average human yuckiness."

Faith shook her head. "It's all the same, Buff. You might not like it, but everybody's capable of this. Give 'em the wrong life circumstances, the wrong influence, and anybody could do anything."

"I don't think I can believe that."

"Then you're gonna keep breaking down, aren't you? Quit being surprised about the inhumanity of humanity and maybe you'll be able to focus on getting the heck out of here."

Their talk was interrupted by the sound of boots clomping down the hallway. Buffy leaped off the gurney and backed into the wall, breathing fast.

"They're not supposed to be back yet."

Faith raised her palms. "Calm it down, Bee. They're probably going to get somebody else."

But the soldiers stopped outside their glass panel, tazer guns raised at both Slayers. Buffy covered her face with her hands. "No!"

"Will you knock it off?" Faith hissed.

But the sight of the soldiers coming for her again had snapped something in Buffy, and she found herself charging towards them, fists raised. She heard only the first part of Faith shouting at her to stop before the soldiers shot six wires at her chest. Electricity exploded inside her, causing her to writhe to the floor and plunge into unconsciousness.

She awoke much later, though how much later she couldn't say. Her head pounded painfully, and there was something in her mouth. She rolled her tongue against it. It was a tube, she realized, and it slid down her throat. She opened her eyes and saw that she was in a different room than usual, a much dimmer room, and there was a blue curtain pulled around her gurney. Her wrists and ankles were cuffed down. Near her bed, a machine pushed air in and out, connected to the tube in her mouth. It was breathing for her, she realized. What had happened?

"The electric shock stopped your heart." Riley stepped out of the corner, where he must have been watching her as she woke up. Oddly, his forehead was shiny with sweat, and his cheeks were red. "We had to connect you to a ventilator."

Unable to say anything with a tube in her mouth, Buffy merely stared at him. She wished the throbbing in her head would go away.

Riley kneaded his hands together. "I wasn't always like this, you know. Enslaved to Professor Walsh. She's done something to me." He scratched his head in a frantic way. "I'm telling you, she's controlling me somehow."

He took a step closer to Buffy, his eyes wide with desperation. "I'll get you out of here."

Buffy's heart leaped within her chest. For a split second, she allowed herself the luxury of imagining herself home with her mother, with Giles, with Willow.

"But you have to kill Professor Walsh."

Riley leaned in close, until Buffy could feel his breath on her face. His next words came out as a whisper. "You have to kill her for me. Please." He shivered. "I can't do it myself. And if you do it, I'll walk you out of here. You can go home."

Buffy's heart raced. Could she kill Professor Walsh? The professor wasn't a vampire, or a demon, or supernatural in any way. She was just evil. She was an evil, sadistic, _human _being.

Buffy shook her head so slightly it was almost imperceptible. Riley's forehead crumpled.

"Please!" he cried. "I can't keep doing all these things, but I can't get away from her."

Buffy shook her head again, squeezing her eyes shut. She heard the whoosh of the curtain as Riley flew from the room, and she thought she heard him desperately crying. For the second time that day, Buffy sobbed.

#####

Buffy remained in the curtained room for several days. When she returned to her cell, Faith was lying on her back on the floor. She whipped to her feet when she saw Buffy. "Bee, I thought you were dead."

"I was. Briefly." Buffy sank to the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees.

"Don't freak out on me now."

"How am I supposed to _not _freak out?" She clenched her fists and unclenched them. "Riley came into the room. He said he would get me out of here."

Faith's eyes went wide. "He didn't."

"He did. _If _I kill Professor Walsh."

Faith laughed and lifted her arms. "Awesome. When do we leave?"

"Faith, I can't kill her. She's a person."

"So? Bee, she tortures you on a daily basis."

"It doesn't matter. If I kill her, I'm not a Slayer. I'm a murderer."

Faith loped across the room, her forehead set with anger. "This is about me, isn't it? You just can't stand the idea of sinking as low as the Dark Slayer."

Buffy shook her head. "This has nothing to do with you."

"It does though, doesn't it? You were always the _good _one, the righteous one, and you can't deal with the thought of being the evil one. Even if it'll save your life."

"I can't kill someone, Faith. I just can't."

"Then you're damning the both of us, because as far as I see that's the only way we're getting out of here. Don't you care about your life? You want to see your mother again?"

"You _know _I do-

"And what about all those people getting killed by vampires because you're trapped in here, huh? What about them? Is being righteous worth getting them killed?"

Buffy ran her hands through her hair. "I don't know, alright. All I know is it's wrong to kill a person, and I won't do it."

"You're an idiot." Faith slammed onto the floor and shut her eyes. "A complete and total idiot."


	4. Chapter 4

**Between a Rock and Faith**

**Chapter 4**

Things were much the same for the next few days, each morning bringing a new horror in the operating room. Buffy tried to keep alert, to think of new ways to escape, but she couldn't deny how easy it would be to wrap her hands around the professor's throat and squeeze. Each time the woman stuck a needle in Buffy's arm, or put her hands in Buffy's mouth, or groped a muscle in her thigh, the Slayer felt closer to accepting Riley's offer. But something inside her refused to bend, refused to kill a human being. Enraged at Buffy's rigidity, Faith wouldn't even look at her.

One day Riley wasn't the only soldier in the operating room. Along with the Russian and Professor Walsh, there were five other soldiers Buffy had never seen before, hovering around her with emotionless faces. She wondered nervously why all the brute force was needed.

Then the Russian rolled a large tank of water into the room, a glass rectangle the size of a refrigerator and full of weird wires. Buffy took deep breaths, trying not to panic.

"Riley, put the mask on Hostile 33," ordered the professor.

His face hard and blank, Riley approached Buffy with a clear, plastic mask attached to a tank of gas. He clasped the mask to her face, and Buffy instantly felt cool air flow into her mouth. She breathed it and was relieved that it seemed to simply be oxygen.

"Put her in, boys," said the professor.

The soldiers grasped Buffy's arms and legs and, after unlatching her cuffs, lifted her into the air. Undrugged and unstrapped, Buffy kicked and flailed, but the weird mask impaired her view and there were six men clutching her. All at once, they hoisted her over their heads and dropped her into the tank feet first. She fell into the water, which turned out to be so cold that Buffy's heart went into overdrive. She tried to swim back to the surface, but someone plopped a lid on top, and her head banged against it. She was completely submerged, able to breathe solely through the mask. When she opened her eyes, she could see the Professor and the Russian just outside, taking notes.

At first, Buffy was relieved at the day's activity. Submerged in a tank of cold water? It was better than being stabbed, or injected with things, or made to swallow weird chemicals. Then the water got colder. And colder. Soon Buffy couldn't feel her hands, her feet, her legs, her arms. Her heart beat slower and slower. She screamed into the mask but couldn't hear anything. She hallucinated. She cried again.

Then the water got colder, and suddenly Buffy's legs and arms seemed to stop floating, seemed to be stuck in place. She was encased in ice, she realized. Professor Walsh had turned her into a popsicle. She tried to open her eyes but they were stuck shut.

Hours went by. She fell asleep and woke up. At one point she was certain she was dead, and was disappointed that heaven was dark and freezing. A day went by. Two days. She was starving and thirsty. She screamed again but the noise didn't seem to escape her own head.

Finally, things began to warm up. She realized at one point that her arms were moving again, that they weren't casted into place. Then she felt hands close around her wrists.

The feeling of being slammed down onto the gurney shocked Buffy, but it shocked her more when someone ripped the mask from her mouth. She gasped and coughed. She opened her eyes and saw that she was moving down the hall again. Soon she was back in her cell. She didn't move.

"Bee?"

She still didn't move. She was no longer encased in ice, but she was so cold. She wasn't sure her muscles could move. She wasn't sure her heart hadn't frozen along with her body.

Someone pressed up against her. This person was very warm, and Buffy couldn't help but lean into them. Arms wrapped around her and squeezed. Then she felt a soft hand over her heart.

"Your pulse is moving way too slow, Bee." Hands rubbed up and down Buffy's arms. "You've gotta warm up. Can you move?"

The hands grabbed Buffy's hands and clasped them together, warming them. But Buffy still couldn't feel her fingers.

"Those assholes."

The hands stroked her hair and pulled her closer, until Buffy felt completely cocooned by the warm body. It was Faith, Buffy realized. Faith must have been lying alongside her, pulling her against her body, wrapping her arms around her and rubbing her hands up and down her back. For some reason, Buffy almost cried again.

"Quit crying. It's over, alright? Toughen up." But Faith's hands were gentle as they rubbed up and down her arms, pushed her wet hair off her forehead. "Sheesh, Buffy, you have icicles in your hair."

Faith's hand touched Buffy's chest again. It rested there, making the frozen nerves on Buffy's skin prickle. "Your heart's still beating too slow. Don't go to sleep, alright?"

Almost the instant Faith said it, Buffy eyelids felt heavier. Sleep would be nice. Sleep would be warm. And at least she could escape this place in her dreams.

Faith shook her gently. "Hey! What'd I just say? Don't go to sleep! You wanna die today?"

Buffy jolted back into consciousness, though she didn't open her eyes. Sitting up, Faith pulled Buffy on top of her, stringing her arms under Buffy's arms and folding her hands on Buffy's chest, so she could feel her heart beating. Then Faith began kicking one leg up and down unpredictably, jerking both of their bodies each time.

"That's good and annoying. Sorry about that. I'm just trying to keep you awake."

Faith kept kicking, and her hands remained on Buffy's chest, feeling her heart beat. Every so often she would run her fingers through Buffy's hair, or stroke her wrist. And whenever she thought Buffy might be falling asleep, she started talking again.

"Let's see, let's see. I grew up in a city. With my Dad. I don't recommend either. Then again, you probably can't relate to the whole bad-childhood thing. You've got a nice house, a mother who loves you, friends. To be honest, I don't even like ya that much, Bee. I'm just doing this for all those people who love you." She took a deep breath, heaving both of their bodies up and down. "If I die, who cares? I'm a screw-up nobody gives a damn about. But you die and a lot of people are unhappy. So don't start thinking I like you or anything. This isn't about you."

Several hours went by like this. Then there was the sound of boots, and the sliding of the glass panel. Buffy still hadn't opened her eyes, or moved, and didn't do either of these things now.

"Get out of here," Faith snapped. "Can't you see you're gonna kill her?"

"Buffy." It was Riley's voice. He spoke very softly, like he was scared someone would hear. "You have to listen to me. She's going to cut into your head tomorrow."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Just the sound of breathing and the hum of the fluorescent lights.

"Listen to me," Riley continued, his voice sounding closer. Buffy felt Faith's arms close more tightly around her. "I'm going to unlock the cuffs after I take you into the operating room tomorrow. Get up and kill her, and I will walk you out of here, past all the guards, alright? Just do it. Just do it before she screws with your brain."

The glass slammed shut, and Buffy started to shake. She opened her eyes and looked up into Faith's face. Faith's mouth had fallen open.

"Do what he says, Bee. It's justified now. She's gonna mess with your head. Kill her."

Buffy said nothing, staring blankly. She had never had to kill a person before.

"Do it because I'm telling you to. Right here, right now, I'm taking responsibility for you, so you've gotta do what I say. Like with Giles, right? You do what Giles says. Well, right now you do what I say, and I'm ordering you to kill her."

This went on all night, Faith urging Buffy to kill Professor Walsh, and Buffy staring into space. Eventually Buffy's heart must have gotten a little faster, because Faith let her fall asleep. She had no dreams.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Hi guys, I tried to post this chapter yesterday but for some reason it didn't work? Fanfiction glitchiness. At any rate, I give you the final chapter of this disturbing tale. _  
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**Between a Rock and Faith **

**Chapter 5**

Buffy awoke to the sound of the glass sliding, and her muscles instantly tensed. She pictured Professor Walsh holding a saw to her head, cutting into the bone of her skull. She looked around for Faith, but the other Slayer had backed against one wall and was gazing at Buffy intensely.

"Do it," Faith ordered. "Just do it, Buffy."

Tazer guns raised, several soldiers entered the room. Buffy didn't dare move as Riley snapped her wrists and ankles into the cuffs. She cast Faith a terrified look he rolled her gurney out of the room.

"Do it, Buffy! Just do it!"

The vampires and demons didn't bother to scream at her today. Few of them did anymore. In some ways she had earned their camaraderie, suffered the same things they had.

At the door of the operating room, Riley jangled his keys. "I can take it from here, fellas. Professor doesn't need you today."

The soldiers thanked Riley and left, their boots making clomping noises against the floor. Riley looked at Buffy pleadingly, then opened the door and rolled her inside.

Professor Walsh's back was to them, as she stood before the counter washing her hands. She didn't bother to turn around as she spoke. "Get her knocked out, Riley. The surgeons are coming in five."

"Yes, ma'am."

Riley moved very quietly, darting from Buffy's right wrist, to her left wrist, to her left ankle, to her right ankle, unlocking each of them. Buffy didn't move. She was watching the professor, examining the way the woman's hair was neatly trimmed, the way her earrings glinted in the light. She was a person. A human being.

"Please," Riley whispered.

It was enough for the professor to whip around, eyebrows raised. She gazed at Riley, then at Buffy, her eyes moving to each of the open cuffs. Her lips fell open. Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a syringe.

"Don't you dare move, Hostile 33," she said.

Buffy breathed hard as the professor sidled toward her, syringe in hand. She came closer, then closer. Buffy's heart went wild. She had to move now, or this woman was going to stick drugs in her vein and give her unnecessary brain surgery. Buffy pictured Faith, her mouth a hard line, saying, _Do it. _

Buffy snapped into the air and kicked Professor Walsh in the side of the head. The woman was dead before she hit the ground.

Buffy put her hands on her knees, panting. Riley let out a sort of guffaw, a crazed, joyful laugh.

"She's dead," he cried. Buffy could hear him breathing excitedly. "She's dead."

Buffy stood up straight. Through the tiny window in the door, she saw a horde of soldiers march by, soldiers who were probably holding tazer guns. She turned to Riley.

"Get me out of here!" she cried. She couldn't bear to look at the heap of a person on the floor, the blood pooling.

Riley nodded frantically. "Okay. Okay. Get on the gurney."

Buffy stepped away from him.

"You have to. If you're walking next to me, people will get suspicious."

Reluctantly, Buffy lay herself down on the hard metal, her hands and wrists falling instinctively into the cuffs. She shut her eyes to avoid looking at Professor Walsh's body. Faith had told her to do it, she told herself. Faith had taken responsibility.

Buffy screamed when one of the cuffs closed around her wrist. "What are you doing?"

Riley grabbed her other wrist and locked it into the cuff. "It'll look weird if they're open. I'll let you go. I promise."

"Your promise means _nothing _to me."

Riley's forehead broke. "Please. I'm a good person. I didn't mean to get into all of this-

"Just get me out of here, Riley!"

He nodded frantically again. After locking her ankles into the cuffs, he rolled her out the door, turning a different direction than usual, away from her cell.

"Wait," Buffy hissed. "Faith. What about Faith?"

Riley gave her a warning look. "Shush. People will hear you."

"I can't leave without Faith!"

Several soldiers down the hall looked over, and Riley shifted uncomfortably. Then his face took on a look of exaggerated anger.

"Shut up, you swine!" He slapped her, hard, across the face, stunning her into silence. The soldiers at the end of the hall looked away and continued talking.

Riley started pushing her again, away from her cell. Once they were past the group of soldiers, he looked at Buffy apologetically. "Sorry. Had to."

Buffy's cheek still burned. She whispered this time, "I can't leave without Faith."

Riley ignored her, pushing her onward, and Buffy started to crying. So much crying in these past few weeks. She'd once thought she was tough. She wasn't sure what she was anymore.

"What are you crying about?" Riley hissed. They'd moved into a large room, with concrete floors and walls, and an assortment of vehicles parked inside. Lots of soldiers were hanging around, but they paid no attention to Buffy and Riley. As long as he was pushing her around on a gurney, it looked normal.

"Faith," Buffy whimpered. "Promise me you'll get her out, too. Promise me."

Riley cocked his head to the side. Then there was a blinding light against Buffy's face, warm and bright, making her skin tingle. Sunlight. It was streaking in through the open garage door. She wanted to get up and run.

But Riley stopped them outside of a black car, by the passenger-side door. After glancing around, he unlocked Buffy's ankles. Her muscles coiled, ready to spring, but he clenched his teeth.

"You can't go running out of here," he said. "They'll just catch you again. I have to drive you."

Breathing rapidly, Buffy nodded, and he unlocked her wrists. She sat up on the gurney. He unlocked the car and she got in, feeling weird sitting against a cool leather seat. Sunlight touched her face.

Riley got into the driver's seat and, like a miracle, pulled them out of the garage. His face was relaxed, happy. Buffy guessed he was glad Professor Walsh was dead. Soon they were speeding down a desert road. Buffy knew where she was. She was forty minutes away from her house, where maybe her mother was sitting in the living room, going mad with worry. And maybe Giles was there too, fiddling with his glasses, while Willow and Xander sat on the couch.

"Listen, when you get home, you're going to have to switch addresses and lay low for a long time, or they'll come for you. Got it?" Riley said.

Buffy nodded. "Please, get Faith out too. Promise me."

"_Who _is Faith?"

Buffy shook her head. "The other girl in my cell. The other Slayer."

There was a long silence between them.

"Buffy," Riley said. "The girl in your cell, she's been in a coma for a long time. Professor Walsh said she isn't going to wake up."

Buffy's heart skittered. "No, she woke up from the coma. She's been there, talking to me, helping me. I couldn't have gotten through this without her."

Riley turned to her, one eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry. She hasn't been awake."

Buffy's lips fell open. The desert was vast and empty all around her, as they sped toward home. She didn't know what to think, not about anything. Had she been hallucinating the whole time? Had Faith really been lying lifeless in the cell, instead of pushing her and comforting her through this whole nightmare? Buffy couldn't say.

But she knew if Faith had found a way to appear to her even while she was in a coma, then there was goodness in people. There was mercy, even if there was evil, too.

Then again, maybe it was just a hallucination.

**I may write a follow-up homecoming chapter if I feel so inclined. **


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